Front plate mounting for mortise locks



Feb. M, 1950 E. F. SHAFFER FRONT PLATE MOUNTING FOR MORTISE LOCKS Filed June 30, 1947 .7 InUenT0r+ Elwood F. Shaffer,

by his flfiornegs Patented Feb. 14, 1950 FRONT PLATE MOUNTING FOR MORTIS E LOCKS Elwood F. Shaffer, Reading, Pa., assignor to Reading Hardware Corporation, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 30, 1947, Serial No. 758,113

3 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mortise locks, and more particularly to the mounting of the lock casing front plate.

Mortise locks of the type with which the present invention is concerned usually comprise a casing structure which contains the working mechanism of the look, a front plate which is secured to the front face of the casing and an armor or outer plate which is secured to the front plate and has its outer face exposed flush in the edge surface of the door in which the lock is mortised.

It is standard practice in the millwork industry for the edge face of doors to be beveled or disposed at a slight angle from the perpendicular with respect to the planes of the inner and outer side surfaces of the doors. This bevel or angle customarily extends inwardly of the doors in direction of closing movement thereof and is provided for the purpose of affording a relatively close fit of the door in the jamb at the outer edge While affording sufficient space for the inner edge of the door to clear the jamb when the door is swung to closed position. By tradition or agreement this bevel or angle is standard and, in practice, consists of a slope of one-eighth inch for each two inches of door thickness. In other words, a two inch thick door has a one-eighth inch bevel and a one inch thick door would have a bevel of one-sixteenth inch.

To fit properly within these doors with its armor plate flush with the plane of the edge faces thereof, the conventional type mortise locks must have their front plates mounted upon the lock casings so as to correspond to the bevel of the particular width door in which the lock is to be mortised. In the past, it has been the practice of lock manufacturers to manufacture their mortise looks with a predetermined bevel or angle to the front plate corresponding to the bevel of each specific door thickness and with a particular direction of slope to the bevel according to whether the door is hung for right or left hand operation. It will be apparent that this practice requires a manufacturer to produce and stock large numbers of the same type of lock having merelydifferent front plate bevels or angles to fit the bevels of the standard door thickness and having bevels of different slope direction to take care of both right and left hand doors.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel mortise lock construction wherein the front plate of the lock may be secured to the casing at any desired bevel or angle, within predetermined limits, corresponding to the edge face bevel of standard door thicknesses for either right or left hand operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mortise type look as set forth which embodies novel features of construction and arrangement whereby th lock front plate is adjustable with respect to the lock casing so that the front plate and armor may be positioned to conform to the edge face bevel of standard door thickness for both right and left hand door operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mortise lock as set forth wherein the construction and arrangement which provide the adjustable mounting of th front plate enables the lock casing to be mortised first into the door and the front plate to be then secured to the casing in angular relation thereto conforming precisely to the edge face bevel of the door in which the lock is mortised.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel mortise lock construction having the features and advantages described which is of relatively simplified construction, which is entirely effective and foolproof in use, and which affords the manufacturer substantial savings in manufacturing costs and stock inventory.

These and other objects of the invention, and the various features and details of the construction and operation thereof, are hereinafter fully set forth and described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in perspective of a portion of a door in which is mounted a typical mortise lock made according to the present invention.

Fig, 2 is a view of the lock showing the front plate and armor detached therefrom and illustrating certain structural details of the invention;and

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sectional views taken, respectively, on line 3-3, Fig. 1 and line 4-4, Fig. 1; I

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, reference numeral I designates a door in the edge face 2 of which is mortised a lock of the key operated cylinder type comprising a casing 3 which contains the lock mechanism, a front plate 4 which is secured to the face of the casing, and an armor 5 which, in turn, is secured to the front face of the plate 4 and adapted to lie with its outer surface substantially flush with the plane of the edge face 2 of said door I.

In accordance with the present invention and in order that the front plate 4 may be positioned at various angles with respect to the front face of the lock casing I, the casing front face is beveled from the longitudinal centerline thereof outwardly in opposite directions, as shown at E and respectively, in the drawing. The bevels 6 and l have the same angle of slope with respect to the casing i and in most cases the said bevels 6 and l are disposed at an angle of about three and one-half degrees (3 A with reference to an imaginary plane containing the casing front face centerline and lying perpendicular to the plane of one of the casing side walls as indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing. This angle is sufficient to include the bevels of substantially all standard door thicknesses.

The lock front plate 4 is secured to the face of the casing 3 by means of screws or the like 8 which pass through openings 9 in said front plate and are threaded into tapped holes l9 provided in the front face of the lock casing. As most clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing, the screw holes ID in the casing front face are counterbored to provide recesses or sockets H of substantially semi-spherical cross-sectional shape in the front face. In addition, the portions of the front plate 4 in which the screw openings 9 are located, are offset from the plane of the plate a, for example, by stamping or pressing, to provide, at the inner side of the plate, convex pro'ecting portions I 2 of substantially semi-spherical shape for interfitting cooperation with the recesses or sockets H in the casing front face and, at the outer side of said plate, concave generally semi-spherical recesses 23 for reception of the heads of the securing screws 8 previously described.

This construction, comprising the casing sockets H and the cooperating projections l2 of the front plate provides substantially a ball and socket mounting for said front plate 4 upon the casing l whereby the front plate can be positioned at any desired angle with respect to the casing 3 within the limits defined by the casing bevels '6 and 1 previously described and, when thus positioned, can 'be secured by tightening the screws 8. In practice, a very good procedure to follow consists in first mortising the look into the edge face 2 of the door I with the front plate screws 8 loosened slightly. When this has been done the front plate I may be adjusted to the angular position conforming to the bevel of the door edge face 2, and then secured in that position merely by tightening the aforesaid screws 8. Wood screws (not shown') are used to secure the front plate 4 to the door I through openings l5 in said plate, and the outer armor 5 then is secured upon the front plate 4 by means of screws I6 passed through openings I! in said armor and engaging tapped openings is in said front plate 4, it being understood, of course, that the lock is recessed into the door so that the outer face of the armor 5 lies flush with the surface of the door edge face 2 in the conventional manner.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel mortise lock construction wherein the front plate of the lock may be secured to the casing at any desired bevel or angle, within predetermined limits, corresponding to the edge face bevel of standard door thicknesses for either right or left hand operation. The present invention also provides a mortise type look as set forth which embodies novel features of construction and arrangement whereby the lock front plate is adjustable with respect to the lock casing so that the front plate armor may be positioned to conform to the edge face bevel of standard door thicknesses for both right and left hand door operation. In addition, the invention provides a mortise look as set forth which provides the adjustable mounting of the front and enables the lock casing to be mortised first into the door and the front plate and then to b secured to the casing in angular relation thereto conforming precisely to the edge face bevel of the door in which the lock is mortised. Furthermore, the present invention provides a novel mortise lock construction having the features and advantages described which is of relatively simplified construction, which is entirely effective and foolproof in use, and which affords the manufacturer substantial savings in manufacturing costs and stock inventory.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been. illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosures, and changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a lock of the type adapted to be mortised into the edge face of a door, a casing having its front face beveled at a predetermined angle in respectively opposite directions from the longitudinal centerlin of said front face and having tapped holes in its front face counterbored to provide therein substantially semi-spherical recesses, a front plate arranged to overlie said casing front face and having inwardly offset portions of substantially semi-spherical shape arranged for interfitting cooperation with said recesses in the casing front face, said offset portions and recesses providing substantially a ball and socket mounting of the front plate upon the front fac of the casing operable to effect positioning of said front plate angularly with respect to the front face between the limits defined by said bevels thereon, and screw fastening means arranged to extend through said inwardly offset portions of the front plate and thread into said tapped holes in the casing front face to secure said front plate thereto in any selected angular position thereof within said limits.

2. In a lock of the type adapted to be mortised into the edge face of a door, a casing having its front face beveled at a predetermined angle in respectively opposite directions from the longitudinal centerline of said front face and having tapped holes in its front face counterbored to provide therein substantially semi-spherical recesses, a front plate arranged to overlie said casing front face and having inwardly offset portions of substantially semi-spherical shape arranged for interfitting cooperation with said recesses in the casing front face, said offset portions and recesses providing substantially a ball and socket mounting of the front plate upon the front face of the casing operable to effect positioning of said front plate angularly with respect to the front face between the limits defined by said beveis thereon, screw fastening means arranged to extend through said inwardly offset portions of the front plate and thread into said tapped holes in the casing front face to secure said front plate thereto in any selected angular position thereof within said limits, and an armor plate overlying and secured to said front plate parallel thereto.

3. In a lock of the type adapted to be mortised into the edge face of a door, a casing having its front face beveled at a predetermined angle in respectively opposite directions from the longiitudinal center line of said front face and having holes in its front face counterbored to provide therein substantially semi-spherical recesses, a front plate arranged to overlie said casing front face and having inwardly offset portions of substantially semi-spherical shape arranged for interfitting cooperation with said recesses in the casing front face, said offset portions and recesses providing substantially a ball and socket mounting of the front plate upon the front face of the casing operable to effect positioning of said front plate angularly with respect to the front face between the limits defined by said bevels thereon,

ELWOOD F. SHAFFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 235,963 Prouty Dec. 28, 1880 332,849 Voll Dec. 22, 1885 611,979 Shaw Oct. 4, 1898 

